Russian Cemetery
Russian Cemetery | |
Location | Westford, Massachusetts |
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Coordinates | 42°34′41″N 71°28′17″W / 42.57806°N 71.47139°W |
Area | 1.33 acres (0.54 ha) |
NRHP reference No. | 05001324[1] |
Added to NRHP | November 25, 2005 |
The Russian Cemetery is a historic cemetery on Patten Road in Westford, Massachusetts. The cemetery was established in 1918 by the Russian Brotherhood, a social organization that served as a focal point for Belorussian immigrants who had been recruited by agents for the Abbot Worsted Company to work in its Westford mills. These primarily Russian Orthodox Christians were not allowed to have burials in some of the town's other cemeteries, prompting the creation of this one, which is distinctive in the town as the only cemetery catering to a specific ethnic group. It has approximately 300 burials, with a significant number of early burials marked with gravestones bearing Cyrillic lettering. The cemetery remains open to members of the local Russian-American community.[2]
The cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.[1]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
- ^ "NRHP nomination for Russian Cemetery". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2014-04-05.
External links
[edit]Media related to Russian Cemetery (Westford, Massachusetts) at Wikimedia Commons
- Belarusian-American history
- Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
- Cemeteries in Middlesex County, Massachusetts
- Russian-American culture in Massachusetts
- Russian cemeteries
- National Register of Historic Places in Middlesex County, Massachusetts
- 1918 establishments in Massachusetts
- Buildings and structures in Westford, Massachusetts